Roasting machine



April 7, 193 A. K. SMITH ROASTING MACHINE Filed July 9, 1927 INVENTOR ZZfiEPZ/KJWZZZZ ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 7, 1931 Y mice ALBERT K. SMITH, or fwnsr onnncn, new JERSEY, assra'non r0 THE HILLS naornnns COMPANY, inc, A coaroanrron or'nnw YORK ROASTING MACHINE Application filed July 9, 1927. Serial No. 204,470

ployed.

It is also anobject of my invention to con struct a suitable holder which readily. may be adapted and be used with'chain conveyors in continuous operating machines.

T accomplish these objects by providing a head upon which a pimento which has previously been cored may besupporte'd in in-.

verted position, thehead'havirig associated therewith a pair of pivoted fingers whichproject therethrough and in one position grip the inner surface of the pimento at spaced points and also having a depending flange which may be pivotally attached to a chain conveyor; Q A. detailed description will be given in con;

nection with the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is'a sideelevation of two of the supporting heads mounted upon a conveyor, some of the elements having been omitted for clearness;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. '1; Fig. 3 is a plan of a single head. In the embdimentishown in the drawings by way of illustration 1 provide ahead'having a'somewhat rectangular top portion 1 which has a circular boss 2 extendingfrom the upper face thereof having a diameter ap- 40 proximately the'same as the opening out into a pimento by the coring operation and-over which a pimento may be placed Adjacent to this boss and arranged around the outerpe riphery thereof are a plurality of projec tions 3 somewhat lowerin height which extend only slightly above the upper. surface of the top portion 1 and serve as rests or stops upon which the edge of the pimento rests when placed in inverted positionupon the boss 2.,

Y The upper portion is formed with an elongated centrally disposed vertical slot 4 ex tending therethrough from top to bottom. Integrally with the portion l and extending downwardly therefrom is a relatively thin bifurcated depending flange or web 5fwhich is arcuate upon its lower edge and which. extends laterally beyondeach side of the rectangular portion 1-,f0r a substantial distance in a direction perpendicular to the length of the slot 4. Immediatel'y'below the upper section 1 the web 5 is cut away to provide an opening therethrough for purposes to be later described. 4 I

'Disposed within the elongated slot gt are apair of gripping fingers each of which compr ses upper curved endor foot end 7 and a lower enlarged 8. These fingers are formed with a lug portion 9 projecting laterally from I one edge thereof which is bored toreceive a pivot pin 10 Very loosely, to pivotally sea fiat barlike member 6 having an cure the fingers 6' tothe upper portion 1 at a point which'is removed from the center of gravity of the fingers in such a manner that the fingers normally fall with the upper curved ends 7 inabutti-n'g relationship when away portion in the flange 5. A U-shap'ed cam member 11 is positioned below the head in such a manner that the two side arms 12 and 1.3 thereof extend upwardly and. constitute cam tracks which lie adjacent the lower ends 8 of the fingers 6. The distance between the tracks 12 and 13 may be varied so as to 'control the relative'positions of the fingers (Sandswing them upon their assembled in the head. These fingers are I supported within the slot 4: with the upper curved ends 7 facing outwardly and the lower foot portions 8 projecting throughthe cutpivots 10 to move the upper ends 7 toward or from each other to grip or release a pimento placed upon the boss 2 and over the curved ends 7 The cam element 11 is supported upon a tubular support 14: which may be connected to the source of cold water (not shown) for cooling purposes.

For utilization in connection with a conveyor system the bifurcated web 5 is loosely pivoted by a single pin 15'to a connecting link 16 which is attached to a conveyor chain 17 the connecting link 16 being pivotally connected to a chain at a plurality of points as, for example, by pins 18 and 19. In order to prevent directwear upon the cam a wear plate 20 is placed between the conveyor chain. and the cam. It is to be noted that all the pivot pins are considerably smaller than the aperture through which they extend in order to permit free movement thereof at high temperatures when the metal is expanded. Also that the length of the web 5 in the direction of motion is such as to rigidly support the head and prevent it from turning upon a verticalaxis whereas the arcuate edge will permit of short bends as the chain traverses the sprockets at the ends thereof.

In operation the supporting heads as pre viously described are customarily used in multiple upon a conveyor chain or other conveying device and the whole head and chain is caused to traverse a roasting tunnel (not shown). As the heads approach the tunnel a pimento may be placed in inverted position over the boss 2 while the curved ends 7 of the fingers 6- are in close abutting relationship after which the cam tracks 12 and 13 will converge and separate the curved ends 7 by contacting with the feet 8 and swinging thefingers 6 upon their pivots 10 whereby the pimento is firmly gripped and held in upright inverted position upon the boss 2 by the fingersi6 which frictionally grip the inner surface of the pimento and at points within the pimento where the diameter-is greater than the opening cut into the pimento. As the head emerges fromthe tunnel the cam tracks again diverge and permit the fingers to swing upon their pivots by the action of gravity and move the curved ends 6 toward each other and allow the pimento to fall from the support. It-is obvious that various changes in the details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims. I claim: 1. A fruit holder'for use in roasting machines comprising a head provided with a support for a previously cored fruit and a portion extending above the support to enter the fruit,'and a pair of pivoted fingers extending above said portion adapted to ex tend into the fruit on said support and engage the inner surfaces thereof to frictionally hold the fruit on said support.

2. A fruit holder for use in roasting machines comprising a head adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover, a pair of fingers pivoted in'the head intermediate their ends, the upper ends of which extend above said head and into the fruit supported thereby, the lower ends of said fingers projecting out of said head and means for engaging the lowerends of said fingers and moving them relatively to each other to cause the fingers to engage the inner surface of the fruit to frictionally hold the fruit upon said head.

A fruit holder for use in roasting machines comprising a head adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover, a pair of fingers pivoted intermediate their ends, the upper ends of which project above said head and into said fruit, a pair of cam tracks adapted to contact with the lower ends of said fingers to move them relatively to each other to cause the upper ends to engage the inner surface of said fruit to frictionally hold the fruit upon said head.

l. A fruit holder for use in roasting machines comprising a head adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover, a pair of fingers pivoted intermediate their ends at a point removed from their center of gravity, the upper ends of which project above said head and into said fruit a pair of cam tracks adapted to contact with the lower ends of said fingers to move them relatively to each other to cause the upper ends to engage the inner surface of said fruit to hold the same upon the holder.

5. A fruit holder for use in roasting machinescomprising a head adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover having a flange depending therefrom for attachment to a conveyor, a pair of pivoted fingers extending above said head and adapted to extend into the fruit on said head and engage the inner surface thereof to frictionally hold the fruit on said head.

6. A fruit holder for use in roasting machines comprising a head adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover having a flange depending therefrom for attachment to a conveyor, pair of pivoted fingers extending above said head and adapted to extend into the fruit on said head and engage the inner surface thereof to frictionally hold the fruit on said head, and means for pivotally securing said flange to said conveyor.

7. A fruit holder for use in roasting machines comprising a head having a raised boss thereon adapted to enter a previously cored fruit and asupport below the boss for supporting the fruit the edges of the open ing in the fruit, a pair of pivoted fingers extending above said boss and adapted to extend into the fruit on said head and engage the inner surface thereof to frictionally hold the fruit on said head.

8. A fruit holder for use in roasting machines comprising a head having a raised boss thereon adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover having a flange depending therefrom for attachment to a conveyor, a pair of pivoted fingers extending above said head and adapted to extend into the fruit on said head and engage the inner surface thereof to frictionally hold the fruiton said head.

9. A fruit holder for use-in roasting inachines comprising ahead adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover, a pair of fingers pivoted intermediate their ends, the upper ends of which project above said head and into said fruit, a U-shapedcam adapted to contact with the lower ends of said fingers to move them relatively to each other to cause the upper ends to engage the inner surface of said fruit.

10. The combination with a chain conveyor of a fruit holder for use in a roasting machine comprising a head adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover having a plurality of pivoted fingers therein extending above said head for gripping the interior sur faces of said fruit, a flange extending therefrom, and a link pivotally connected to said flange and to said chainconveyor.

l1. The combination with a conveyor of a fruit holder for use in a roasting machine 1 comprising a head adaptedto support a previ-- ously cored fruit thereover, said head having l5. A'fruit holder for use in roasting machines which comprises a head provided with a support for previously cored fruit andhaving a projecting portion entering a piece of 7 In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my signature.

ALBERT K. SMITH.

a plurality of fingers pivoted thereto and extending above said head for gripping the interior surfaces of said fruit, a flange depending therefrom and a link pivotally connecting said flange to said conveyor.

12. The combination with a chain conveyor of a fruit holder for use in a roasting machine comprising a head adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover having a plurality of pivoted fingers therein extending above said head for gripping the interior surfaces of said fruit, a flange extending therefrom, and a link pivotally connected to said flange at a single point and to said conveyor at a plurality of points. 7

13. A fruit holder for use in roasting machines, comprising a head adapted to support a previously cored fruit thereover, including a plurality of pivoted fingers extending above said head and having projecting ends adapted to engage the inner surface of fruit supported on the head, and means acting on the other ends for causing their projecting ends to move apart to engage said fruit.

14:. A fruit holder for use in roasting machines which comprises a head provided with a support for previously cored fruit and hav ing a projecting portion entering a piece of fruit on the support, and means extending through the free end of said portion and movable to engage the inner surface of a piece of fruit on the support.

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